After driving my new Volvo for 1500 miles, I found out that the dealer had left 48 psi (cold pressure) in all 4 tires instead of the recommended 30 psi. An encounter with a moderate highway pothole produced an unusually heavy jolt, which prompted me to check the tire pressure. A friend of mine said my wife and I are lucky that we didn't have a blowout. The dealer is willing to address any possible damage as an indirect result of the high tire pressure. I want to be sure that they inspect the suspension/wheels completely, so exactly what parts should they be checking? Thanks for your help! --- Norm
That pressure will not hurt anything other than the tire wear. That pressure will cause the center of the tire to wear more quickly, but will improve fuel mileage slightly, protect the wheels from pothole damage better, and cause a rougher than normal ride. Possibly the shock absorbers and ball joints would have taken a little more abuse, but probably nothing worth worrying about. -- Mike F. Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont. NOTE: new address!! Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly. (But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)
They let little jonny trainee do your PDI, he inflated the tires to the max pressure allowed as stated on the tire wall I bet. I wonder what else he did?
What kind of tires are they? The Michelin MXV4 tires that a lot of Volvos come with when new say max 44psi cold on the tire sidewall. While this is a lot higher than what Volvo recommends, it won't damage that particular kind of tire. Even if the tire says max 35psi, the most likely damage, if any, is bulges in the tire sidewall. These will be easy to see or feel if you run your hand along the tire. If it were my car, I'd look closely at the tires to make sure, but I wouldn't worry too much. By the way, a fast highway drive can easily increase tire pressure by 5psi, and if the tires were filled up on a very cold day and the weather gets a lot warmer a week or two later, this could add up to another 5psi. The opposite can by true too. If you filling up your tires right after a long fast drive on a hot day, and the weather gets really cold a week later, it would be a smart thing to double check the pressure. Will you really see 10psi changes in tire pressure? No, probably a lot less...
Most cars are shipped from the factory with 45-50 psig in them as that the pressure for mounting the tire on the wheel. The dealer is suppose to readjust the pressure to manufactures specs as part of the pre delivery inspection. Obviously this was overlooked. No tire damage or other should have be done as many owners run tires at 10-15 pounds over pressure when running gymkhanas or auto-crossing. NO problem, just readjust pressure and enjoy you vehicle. eddie
Hi John, What model Volvo - what wheels - what tires ? Over pressurized tires are of no consequence whatsoever - unless the tire actually blows out. In general tires themselves have a substantial built in safety factor to accommodate excess pressure. The tire wear for increased pressure will be biased toward the tread center. The lateral traction may be decreased because the load is not properly distributed across the tread. The car's suspension is not damaged in any way by excess tire pressure. Simply bleed the pressure down to that recommended (on inside of fuel filler flap) by Volvo and things will be as they should. Underinflated tires are quite another matter. Gross underinflation will lead to excessive heat at highway speeds. This will disrupt the tires structure and eventually blow out. Underinflation also increases the opportunity for the wheel rim to cut the tread or sidewall should you encounter a pothole or speedbump or other jolt. At this point your Volvo has not been damaged by overinflated tires. Bill
I seriously doubt that inflating your tires to 48 psi makes them at risk for a blow out or would cause any suspension damage. What will result however is uneven tread wear and significanly less traction due to a narrower tire contact patch with the road. You may notice slightly reduced fuel mileage now that the pressures are correct, though. RCB
Norm, Don't sweat the small stuff if you have alloys they are good to 55 pounds of pressure and the tires were not stressed at the slight over pressure best guess your tires can safely be run at 44 pounds all the time with out a problem. NDS
I witnessed a test at a defensive driving school that proved that adding 10psi to the 'car maker's recommendation' was a wise safety decision. The school maintained that the car maker was anxious to see that you had a soft quiet ride so recommended at the low end. A harsh swerve took a chalk line right off the side wall at this pressure! Adding 10psi keeps the wall shape more accurate ensuring safer steering, better mpg and longer tire life. I have followed this for years and noted that the wear is even across the tyre (a sign of correct pressure). it also makes a big difference (improvement) to trailer sway when towing. Cheers, Jim Kelly. | After driving my new Volvo for 1500 miles, I found out that the dealer had | left 48 psi (cold pressure) in all 4 tires instead of the recommended 30 | psi. An encounter with a moderate highway pothole produced an unusually | heavy jolt, which prompted me to check the tire pressure. A friend of mine | said my wife and I are lucky that we didn't have a blowout. The dealer is | willing to address any possible damage as an indirect result of the high | tire pressure. I want to be sure that they inspect the suspension/wheels | completely, so exactly what parts should they be checking? | Thanks for your help! --- Norm | |
Thats an interesting point, especially in a car as heavy as the 240/740. I might just try that, if nothing it would improve my fuel consumption and tighten up the front going round roundabouts. I tend to scrub the outer side of the fronts after a while, and I know it's not the tracking.
What pressure do they recommend? I run all my tires at the rated maximum printed on the tire, which is usually 35 psi, provides the best handling and fuel economy.
Hell NO! Please don't add 10psi to the max rating moulded into the tyres . . sorry if I implied that!! Use the car manufacturer's recommendations, you know the ones, usually a plate somewhere that has a table of pressures for light/heavy loads, normal/fast speeds, front/rear, etc. Simply add 10psi to *those* numbers! It's the car manufacturers that want you to have a cushy ride and don't care so much about the wear rate, etc. Cheers, Jim Kelly. | in message | | > message | > | > > I witnessed a test at a defensive driving school that proved that | > > adding 10psi to the 'car maker's recommendation' was a wise safety | > > decision. The school maintained that the car maker was anxious to | > > see that you had a soft quiet ride so recommended at the low end. A | > > harsh swerve took a chalk line right off the side wall at this | > > pressure! | > > | > > Adding 10psi keeps the wall shape more accurate ensuring safer | > > steering, better mpg and longer tire life. I have followed this for | > > years and noted that the wear is even across the tyre (a sign of | > > correct pressure). it also makes a big difference (improvement) to | > > trailer sway when towing. | > > | > > Cheers, | > > | > > Jim Kelly. | > > | > Thats an interesting point, especially in a car as heavy as the 240/740. | I | > might just try that, if nothing it would improve my fuel consumption and | > tighten up the front going round roundabouts. I tend to scrub the outer | side | > of the fronts after a while, and I know it's not the tracking. | > | > | | What pressure do they recommend? I run all my tires at the rated maximum | printed on the tire, which is usually 35 psi, provides the best handling and | fuel economy. | |
Right, I've pumped my tyres to 10 psi over. That takes them to 65 psi, I'll see what its like on my way to work in the morning. LOL, just joking, I've taken them 10 psi up on Volvo recommended pressure as per sticker on door, so fronts are 38 psi and rears are 40 psi. I took a quick test drive this evening and rolling resistance feels less. Haven't been able to test cornering on account of the icy conditions, but I don't feel any grip loss. Only negative could be slightly higher road noise on some surfaces. I'll find out more in the long high speed commute to work.
Don't bother with overpressurising your current tyres. Change them for a lower profile set and get a harsh ride with little or no grip in inclement weather conditions. Cheers, Peter. : Hell NO! Please don't add 10psi to the max rating moulded into the : tyres . . sorry if I implied that!! : : Use the car manufacturer's recommendations, you know the ones, : usually a plate somewhere that has a table of pressures for : light/heavy loads, normal/fast speeds, front/rear, etc. Simply add : 10psi to *those* numbers! It's the car manufacturers that want you : to have a cushy ride and don't care so much about the wear rate, : etc. : : Cheers, : : Jim Kelly. : : : : : | : in message : | : | > : message : | > : | > > I witnessed a test at a defensive driving school that proved : that : | > > adding 10psi to the 'car maker's recommendation' was a wise : safety : | > > decision. The school maintained that the car maker was anxious : to : | > > see that you had a soft quiet ride so recommended at the low : end. A : | > > harsh swerve took a chalk line right off the side wall at this : | > > pressure! : | > > : | > > Adding 10psi keeps the wall shape more accurate ensuring safer : | > > steering, better mpg and longer tire life. I have followed : this for : | > > years and noted that the wear is even across the tyre (a sign : of : | > > correct pressure). it also makes a big difference : (improvement) to : | > > trailer sway when towing. : | > > : | > > Cheers, : | > > : | > > Jim Kelly. : | > > : | > Thats an interesting point, especially in a car as heavy as the : 240/740. : | I : | > might just try that, if nothing it would improve my fuel : consumption and : | > tighten up the front going round roundabouts. I tend to scrub : the outer : | side : | > of the fronts after a while, and I know it's not the tracking. : | > : | > : | : | What pressure do they recommend? I run all my tires at the rated : maximum : | printed on the tire, which is usually 35 psi, provides the best : handling and : | fuel economy. : | : | :
